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Day 262

Luke 21 : 8-19 "FAMINES AND PESTILENCES..."

Day 262 – Luke 21

Text: Luke 21 : 8-19

“FAMINES AND PESTILENCES…”

The Lord Jesus uttered somber words indeed! The destruction of Jerusalem, the prospect of war, earthquakes in various places… and now “famines and pestilences”. How do we understand this statement?

Once again, we must search the Scriptures and see if there are references to “famines and pestilences”. Let us consider what the prophet Joel wrote.

“Alas for the day!
The Day of the Lord is at hand.
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
Is not the food cut off before our eyes,
Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.”
Joel 1:15-18

This passage that we read from the Book of Joel well describes famine. The Day of the Lord would indeed see great suffering for both animal and man!

SEEKING GOD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND

Again and again, we read not only prophetic utterances of the prophets, but also their responses. The prophets foretold the future, not as doomsayers, but as servants of God who desired to see people repent and return to God. We may also say that this was what the Lord Jesus sought to do even as He taught His Disciples eschatology.

Joel urged Israel to understand why God was going to allow the nation to experience famines and accompanying diseases or “pestilences”. Obviously, God was seeking to chasten His people who were not walking in His ways. To Joel, the only appropriate response was…

“Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly:
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the House of the Lord your God
And cry out to the Lord.”
Joel 1:14

Lest the people of Israel fail to understand the urgency in the first exhortation, Joel went on to repeat himself.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the people,
Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes…
Joel 2:15-16

If Israel had understood the prophetic words of Jesus, they would also recall these words of the prophet Joel. If national calamity were to occur, the only sane response would be to seek God with the greatest sense of urgency! EVERYBODY ought to be called upon to seek the Lord.

“Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
weep between the porch and the altar,
Let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them,
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ “
Joel 2:17

Are we responding appropriately as we read the solemn words of the Lord Jesus concerning the End Times?

ANOTHER KIND OF FAMINE THAT IS JUST AS DEADLY

As we study and search the Lord’s Word concerning “famines and pestilences” we come across a special kind of famine that is just as deadly. Let us consider the words of the prophet Amos.

“Behold, the days are coming” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Not a thirst for water,
But of hearing of the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the Word of the Lord,
But shall not find it.”
Amos 8:11-12

When people reject the Word preached, they run the risk of one day experiencing a deadly spiritual famine of God’s Word. How are we responding to God’s Word?